The First Friend
by BonesBird
Summary: B'Elanna's damaged and broken, Tom is the charming waiter who is determined to have her in his life. Why does she feel like she knows this man. Episode Tag for "Workforce".
1. Chapter 1

**Title: The First Friend  
Summary: B'Elanna's damaged and broken, Tom is the charming waiter who is determined to have her in his life. Why does she feel like she knows this man. Episode Tag for "Workforce". **

**So, this is dedicated to my best writer friend PinkAngel. She's always the one there telling me that my stuff is OK, listening to me when my muse is being uncooperative and giving me ideas when I don't have any. So. This story is for you honey. **

**Massive thanks to Dax and Ash who read through this first chapter for me.**

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She always preferred the tavern during the day, and working during the night. It wasn't that she didn't want to socialise, she did, she always had. But she'd moved here to get away from people who judged her for being a single parent, for not knowing who her baby's father was. So she worked, and she ate alone, trying to fool herself into thinking that she was being social.

She hadn't been social in a while. 5 months to be exact. Since the day that her life had been torn apart, since Max had left, since her father had disowned her, and since she had been forced to leave, unable to cope with the stigma of being "a victim". So she'd left, got the first transport she could. Not knowing at that time she was pregnant. Not sure who the father was. So she'd left, and now she sat in this tavern so she wasn't alone.

There was nowhere else she wanted to go, because this place at least had noise. She wasn't just sat alone talking to the baby and never getting a response. There were people here who would say hello to her, occasionally someone from work would sit down, tell her a little bit of gossip, and go on their way.

Today though, today it was almost silent, for the first time since she'd started, with only a couple of people at the tavern and only one other person sat at a table, it was quieter than she usually liked it, but it meant she was getting her reading done. Not that she really needed to read another report, almost a word for word copy of the previous one. The first thing she would do was –

"Can I get you something else?" She'd seen the waiter before, in passing, they'd never had time to speak, and she'd sort of avoided him. There was something about him. It was as if she knew him from somewhere, but she wasn't sure where, and she didn't know how she could possibly know someone.

"No thank you" she mumbled, not even looking up from her report, scrolling down to the next page. Hopefully he'd go see another customer, but she knew he wouldn't leave her that easily.

"I haven't seen you in here before?" He picked up the plate she'd left, she's eaten everything despite not feeling hungry. That was probably why she already felt as big as a house.

"You probably just didn't notice" she took a drink, still focusing on the report and wishing she was anywhere else, a conversation was not what she wanted today. She just wanted to look like she was being social, actually being social was another matter entirely. The unwelcome intrusion into her space, the shield that she had around her whenever she was in public, to try and stop her getting hurt again, was the last thing she wanted.

"Oh I'd have noticed" he walked around her back and sounded so confident it dragged her away from the report, she looked at him and again was struck by the memory in the back of her mind. Somehow she knew this man, but she wasn't sure how.

"Well apparently you aren't as observant as you think you are" She stifled a smile at the momentary look of shock that crossed over his face, the tiniest of wins for this moment.

"Oh really?"

"I've been coming in here the same time every day for the past two weeks"

"Well, that explains it. I usually work nights" his cocky attitude returned, and as he slid into the seat opposite her she warmed up to the conversation, mostly because pretending it wasn't happening would not make it end sooner. She was almost done with her drink anyway, and she needed to get ready for work eventually.

"Me too"

"At the power distribution facility. You see, I am observant" She was certain the surprise showed on her face, how could he possibly know where she worked? Unless he really had been watching her and waiting for the opportunity to strike up a conversation.

"Tom? I need you for a moment" She didn't look round to see the person calling the waiter away, she guessed his name was Tom, since he looked up, and she went back to her report, wonting to look busy.

"I'll be right there. Listen, you should come back in when you get a night off. It's a lot more fun when there's a crowd" He stood up, and she could feel his eyes on the side of her face again, just watching her, and maybe he was hoping she'd agree.

"I don't really like crowds"

"Well then maybe we could get together during the day sometime, take a walk by the river." She realised her drink was empty, and was there really a better time, even as she spoke she stood up, grabbing her notes and looking at him.

"I don't think so"

"Why not, I am a very engaging conversationalist" as his eyes passed over her he trailed off, his eyes landing on the swelling that explained why she wasn't interested "Oh"

"Yeah, still wanna get together?" She asked sarcastically, already knowing what the answer would be, because he was the typical player, he flirted with anything pretty and female.

"You're married?" he asked, a note of confusion in his voice.

"No"

"Oh" Suddenly everything about him changed, and she wasn't sure what had triggered the complete but subtle change in his body language.

"Enjoy your day" She smiled slightly, his face still a mask of confusion and started walking away, maybe she would need to find somewhere else to eat, but she knew it was the best place, and Tom the cocky waiter wasn't too much to put up with.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: The First Friend  
Summary: B'Elanna's damaged and broken, Tom is the charming waiter who is determined to have her in his life. Why does she feel like she knows this man. Episode Tag for "Workforce". **

**Thanks for the splendid reviews on the last chapter. I'm glad you guys enjoyed it. As you may have noticed I'm writing around scenes in the episode, at least in the beginning. **

**I made Icka blush with my last A/N. I'm not even sorry**

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She'd avoided the tavern for a few days, eating in the park or just staying home, but for some reason, some unknown reason, she felt herself drawn there again. She wasn't sure if it was Tom the waiter or the ambience, but she did miss sitting there and listening to the others. So she went back, ordering her usual drink and sitting at one of the unoccupied tables.

It didn't take long after she settled down reading her report, much as she did every time she went in, smiling as the drink was placed in front of her, for Tom the waiter to walk over, he smiled a little as he began wiping the table next to her. "Hi, listen I get off work in a few minutes, I thought maybe you and I could go–"

"You don't give up do you?" she snapped, cutting him off mid-sentence and not really being sorry for it. She'd shown him the reason she didn't want a relationship, why she didn't want anything serious, but he was still asking. She wasn't sure if she was annoyed, or impressed by his determination.

"You don't even know what I was gonna say!" he said, with a touch of a defence in his voice, making her both smile and roll her eyes, she had a fairly good idea of what he would have said.

"Let me guess. You're going to invite me to take a walk by the river, or maybe to your living quarters to admire the view"

"Actually I was gonna offer to introduce you to some people I met, a couple, expecting their first baby in a few weeks. I thought you might want to get to know some other parents, you know, swap stories, maybe even find a playmate for your baby" he walked round the table, and she was completely taken aback by his offer, almost completely shocked. The offer was such a sweet one from someone she barely knew. "if it's a bad idea"

"No, no it's nice" She wondered if she should apologise, he'd been making a genuinely sweet idea, something that would make her life easier, better, and she'd made assumptions because of Max, her father and everything else. But accepting kindness was something she'd lost, and instead she just felt uncomfortable.

"Listen, I'm sorry about the other day"

"I'm the one who should be apologising, I shouldn't have assumed –" She had no idea why he thought he needed to apologise, the other day he hadn't known about her situation, and today he had come to her with something so sweet she didn't know what to think, and she could feel the tears just behind her eyes.

"Forget it" he shook his head, but she couldn't forget it, because she had been so unfair to this man. This man that there was something within her that told her he knew her.

"Look, it's rare I admit I'm wrong, so you might as well take advantage of it while you can." She watched him as he smiled, the tiniest smile that lit up his entire face, making him look much younger than she was sure he was. She just looked at him then shook her head. "It's been hard, being alone with a baby coming. I have a habit of keeping my guard up"

"Well that's understandable"

"It's just, a romantic relationship is really out of the question for me right now, and when you started asking –"

"How about a friend?" He leant down on the table so they were on eye level with each other, his question asked so quietly and honestly that she knew it was a completely genuine offer, but she was still surprised by this kind stranger who just wanted her in his life in any way possible.

"What?"

"Well, you said romance is out of the question. Could you use a friend?" he smiled again, reaching out and placing his hand on hers, just a light, gentle touch that both terrified her and made her feel better.

"I don't think it would hurt" she nodded, finally letting herself smile a little, knowing that he was honestly trying to be a friend to her.

"I'm Tom, you already know that, if I'm going to be your friend, I need to know your name"

"B'Elanna. My names B'Elanna."


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: The First Friend  
Summary: B'Elanna's damaged and broken, Tom is the charming waiter who is determined to have her in his life. Why does she feel like she knows this man. Episode Tag for "Workforce".**

**This chapter is a little longer than the last two, hope you guys still enjoy my take on this.**

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She found herself being steered away from the bar by her shoulders, Tom leading her over to another table. "It'll be fine, you'll see" had been his muttered words of encouragement and comfort when she'd arrived, wincing a little because the baby was moving around more than she normally did. He stopped her in front of a table and smiled at her "Nedal, Rion, This is B'Elanna"

"Hello" she said, looking away from Tom and to the other people as he squeezed her shoulders and stepped away,

"Hi"

"I'll be right over there, shout if you need anything" he nodded and started walking away,

"Thanks, Tom"

"So, when are you due?" Rion asked, a smile on his face making her feel more at home almost instantly.

"I've still got at least 11 weeks, they can't be certain when exactly" She smiled, continuing with the conversation but following Tom with her eyes, they'd spent a lot of time together the last few days, and she hadn't been able to shake the idea that they knew each other, somehow. He was so protective, so caring of her, and it was obvious he already cared about her a great deal.

She dragged her attention back to her new friends, sharing stories of where they were from, the whole conversation making her smile, even as she looked over and caught him staring at her. She just smiled at him and then supplied her own story about the early weeks of her pregnancy, when she'd alternated from being angry to depressed to giddy in about 40 seconds.

"I'm not lying" Nedal finished, causing B'Elanna to snort with laughter again, "It was the worst thing you've ever seen, and he's upside down in this pod screaming" her sides her from laughing, and it felt great to be talking to people who didn't really care about her past, people who cared about who she was in front of them. All too soon the chronometer on her hip told her it was time to leave for work. She said her goodbyes and headed for the door, until she heard a familiar voice.

"B'Elanna" he almost ran across the room to catch up to her, trying his hardest to look nonchalant as he did so "I'm due for a break, I'll walk you to the transport"

"Stop worrying, I'll be fine" she smiled, happy that she had taken his offer of friendship, it had been something she needed, even though she'd denied it, and from the moment he stopped she'd started smiling. It felt different, having someone who actually cared about her, genuinely wanted the best for her, and who cared about her baby too.

"It's not you that I'm worried about" Tom proved his point, pointedly looking down at the bump as he spoke.

"The baby will be fine too" she laughed a little, turning away and wrapping her cardigan around her as she prepared to go out.

As she walked away she couldn't help but look back, the concern on his face was almost painful, and for a split second she thought about changing her mind, instead she just smiled, giving him the gentlest of nods as she turned out onto the street.

She tried to shake the feeling that someone was watching her, following her. Sure that it was just her imagination after Tom's display. He was so worried about her all the time, even when he didn't need to be. It was something she was coming to really like about him.

There it was again, the feeling that someone was following her. She turned around, and there was the usual throng of people, and another man, walking behind her at roughly the same speed. She went to turn back when she walked into someone, another man, and she suddenly felt cornered

"Excuse me" the man in front of her said, while the man behind walked past her, moving into the shadows, slightly out of sight.

"It was my fault, I should watch where I'm going" she carried on walking, the transport wasn't far now, once she got there she'd be safe and could just go to work and forget all of this.

"B'Elanna" He knew her name, she span round to face him again. Suddenly afraid.

"How do you know my name?"

"What if I told you we were old friends."

"That's a ridiculous statement" she scoffed and started walking away, then he reached out and grabbed her arm, trying to slow her down a little. She shrugged it off and carried on walking.

"I know it sounds strange, but I can prove it to you."

"Look, I'm sorry but I'm late for work" he grabbed her and she struggled, "Let go of me!" Her heart jumped up into her throat, and she was almost for a second paralysed by fear. She tried to shake it off, to fight her way out of this, working to push him off her.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

And there was the other man, who grabbed her when she beat his friend off. She made one final plea, shouting as loud as she could. "Security help." Then she was somewhere else, still struggling, and then everything went dark.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: The First Friend  
Summary: B'Elanna's damaged and broken, Tom is the charming waiter who is determined to have her in his life. Why does she feel like she knows this man. Episode Tag for "Workforce". **

**Karla – Thank you for your lovely reviews! This is an Episode Tag, so it's canon. I'm planning another fic where Voyager doesn't come and find them though, I hope you'll read that one too!**

**I can now confirm this has 6 chapters, so only two more to go on this.**

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"Where am I?" She'd asked the question several times, but hadn't yet gotten a straight answer. She'd been told she was home, and that she was safe. Maybe they were waiting for the captain of the ship to speak to her. She didn't know. But she wanted the answer, and maybe, just maybe, this newcomer would be able to give her more answers.

"The USS Voyager"

"Who are you?" She asked, at least part of her question answered, though she still didn't know exactly where she was, at least she had a name for the place.

"My name is Harry, B'Elanna, you're safe"

"Send me home" she almost begged, though she knew they were right, she was safe, she wasn't sure how she knew it, but she did. Harry just looked at her a moment and shook his head lightly.

"Believe it or not, you are home. The doctor found evidence of a mind-altering medical procedure performed on you a few weeks ago. He thinks he can reverse it, but it will take time. He's already given you the first treatment"

"I know you" she said, a sudden surge of recognition. A white room. White clothes. So much whiteness. This man was someone she trusted. But how could she trust someone she didn't know, but she did know. This was all too confusing for her.

"We're friends, have been for seven years now" he nodded and held a hand out, motioning for her to get off the bed she'd been sat on.

"Seven years?"

"That's how long you've been on Voyager. Neelix is going to walk you through your life on the ship" Harry motioned to another man coming through the door, this one she did recognise. He was the man from the city, the one who had grabbed her.

"You're the man from the alley, your friend?" She shrunk away, but didn't hide, knowing she needed to get over the dear in her body, this man, Neelix, had brought her here, where she was beginning to learn she was safe.

"He's actually your oldest friend on the ship, I think you've known each other almost a decade"

"He wasn't lying?" she was shocked, she'd assumed he'd said anything to get her to do what he wanted. She'd been in that situation before, and it was what they always did.

"No, he wasn't. Come on, let's go and show you around the ship" He smiled at her, holding an arm out towards the door in front of her.

"I can leave?"

"Of course, I'm going to take you to your quarters, show you around a bit."

She just followed him, not sure what else she could do. It was the strangest feeling walking corridors she didn't know, but she did know, and having the strangest flashes of memory – things that didn't make sense.

The doors to the room opened before she touched them, and she looked around. It was filled with little things, padds on the table and one on the floor. A pair of shoes kicked under the sofa. She walked around, and looked at everything.

"This is where I live?"

"You and your husband" he held out a picture and she took it, looking at it, running her fingers over the frame, unable to quite believe her eyes.

"The waiter, from the tavern?"

"Lieutenant Tom Paris, our pilot, and B'Elanna Torres, our chief engineer. That picture was taken on your honeymoon" Neelix said, but that was one thing she didn't remember. She didn't remember much at all about what was apparently her real life. Some things, like this, were still too hard to believe.

"That's impossible."

"How else would we have it?" her eyes roamed the room, falling on an odd looking piece of equipment, wood with a screen. Neelix followed her gaze and walked over to it. "It's an antique television set, you gave it to Tom as a present"

"He watches cartoons." She suddenly remembered, her mind popping up an image of him throwing popcorn at her while she worked. She reached out and touched the television, holding the photograph to her chest

"Yes."

"How do I know that?" She asked, shaking her head as she moved away, looking at other parts of the room.

"Because you're starting to remember."

She reached out for the weapon on the wall. She couldn't remember the name, or figure out why they, she and Tom, would have it on the wall in their home. She looked briefly to Neelix again and then her eyes settled on the crib, and she remembered. She remembered the laughter the two of them had had putting it together. How Tom had replicated everything except for the connectors. She knelt down, wanting to touch that one, tangible thing she remembered. "I wondered why he was so protective of me."

"I'll be outside if you need me." She couldn't tear her eyes away from the crib, after a few minutes she looked at the photograph again, seeing how happy they clearly were in it, and remembering that he did make her happy, he always had, but would they be able to rescue him as well.


	5. Chapter 5

**Title: The First Friend  
Summary: B'Elanna's damaged and broken, Tom is the charming waiter who is determined to have her in his life. Why does she feel like she knows this man. Episode Tag for "Workforce". **

**This chapter was harder to write than I expected, for some reason. Maybe my brain just jumped on the next story, which will hopefully begin in the next couple of weeks. "I Have A Story To Tell" and "A View From The Newsstand" will continue even while I work on the new story. Only one chapter to go on this. Sorry for the delay in posting, both me and Dax (my volunteer beta for this story) got busy very suddenly!**

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Things were getting easier. She had to admit that. She remembered more. She remembered her friends, mostly, and she remembered the majority of her relationship with Tom. She didn't remember everything, but she remembered enough to know that these people weren't lying. Everything made much more sense this way. She hadn't been cast out, she'd willingly left. She hadn't married Max. Nothing that she had thought happened on Europa Nova was real.

Sure, not all of her real memories were great either, but at least they were real. They had really happened, and there was physical proof of who and what she was now. So she had downloaded Tom's logs onto a padd, so she could get to know him better, and come to the mess hall. Although she knew her quarters were her quarters, she felt lonely in them. So she was reading, and Neelix was cooking her something. She looked up again when she heard him and smiled as he put the plate down.

"Smells good"

"Pancakes with Maple syrup are your favourite breakfast. You know, sometimes food is like time travel. You inhale and aroma, take a bite of something and bam, you're back in the moment you first tasted it" She grinned, taking a bite of the food he had put down, remembering the taste from when she was a child. Though they seemed to be missing banana, or maybe she was imagining that part.

"They're good, I'm not experiencing time travel" She laughed a little. Looking back to the padd she was reading, trying to get a feel for her life here.

"What are you reading?"

"Personal logs" She kept reading even as she answered, completely taken in by the stories the logs were telling her. The things they'd seen, the things they'd done.

"Do you remember recording any of them?"

"They're not mine, they're Tom's"

"Those are supposed to be private" Neelix whispered, a slight admonishment in his tone, but he must have understood why she was doing this. She needed to know everything she'd thought she'd known until she'd returned to Voyager was a lie. To get through this change, she needed to know.

"Well, he is my husband."

"What are they saying?"

"They're private. The way he describes me," she sighed, looking to the padd again. Imagining what he'd said and done while he'd written these logs, had he been watching her sleep, or waiting for her to get off duty?

"He loves you" wasn't that the point of all of it. Tom and B'Elanna loved each other. That was obvious reading these logs and more than that, she knew it. She knew he loved her, and that the feeling was mutual, and it was powerful, which made her even angrier that the Quarren government had tried to take that away from her.

"I guess so."

"How do you feel?"

"It's still a little foggy."

"That fog should lift, as soon as the doctor finishes your treatments,"

"Yeah, but what about the guy who recorded these logs" That was her fear now. Before, it had been of letting the cocky waiter get too close, now it was of not getting him back. She was terrified that she wouldn't see him again, and that she would be left alone through all of this.

"We'll get them back B'Elanna."

"I know"

"I'll leave you to eat and read"

"The doctor thinks it'll be my last treatment today. Maybe after that, I could return to duty?" She looked up and her eyes caught his. He shrugged a little and put a hand on her shoulder before replying.

"Ask Harry, right now, he's the senior officer, but when you go back on duty, that falls back to you."

"I'm not ready to be in charge of anything," she shook her head, almost having a panic, wondering what would happen when the rest of their shipmates returned to the ship, would she be expected to help everyone, because she was still figuring things out herself.

"It'll be fine B'Elanna" he squeezed her shoulder as he walked away, and she just watched after him as he left. She then turned back to the padd in front of her and thought about the man who had made these recordings, wishing she had Neelix's confidence.


	6. Chapter 6

**Title: The First Friend  
Summary: B'Elanna's damaged and broken, Tom is the charming waiter who is determined to have her in his life. Why does she feel like she knows this man. Episode Tag for "Workforce". **

**This is just a nice little epilogue, much like the epilogue scene in the ep, it's just short and sweet.**

**I'm sorry its taken so long, I've been sick, but now I'm going through completing my stories.**

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Their quarters were still quite dark, the lighting she had set when they'd come in so as not to overwhelm anyone by everything coming into focus at once. "We really live here?" He asked, looking up at her, this was the first time they'd been alone since the crew had been brought on board, and she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do to help.

"Yes."

"I know everything, but it's still hard to believe."

"Why's that?"

"Because…" He trailed off and sat on the sofa, looking at the antique television she'd built him, then looked up to her, giving a little shrug and a grin.

"I know, I just wondered if you could put it into words I couldn't. I need to get changed, I told Harry I'd help with repairs"

"OK" She smiled as he sat back on the sofa, she watched him for a second before taking her uniform and changing. She'd brought him back to their quarters and left him to look around. She was glad the doctor had been able to restore all the crews memories in only one treatment, but it still lead to some awkward moments. She heard him laugh at the cartoon he was watching, and smiled a little to herself, it was always good to know some things never changed.

When she walked back over she leant against the pillar, just watching him for a minute, and allowing herself to be happy that he was back. After a minute of debating with herself she slid onto the sofa beside him, leaning in and kissing his cheek.

"What was that for?"

"For taking care of me, even when you didn't know who I was" She turned to him with a smile, shaking her head just a little when he nodded. When he looked back towards the television she laid a light punch on his arm, smiling all the while.

"Ow, what was that for?" Tom asked in a slightly hurt tone, rubbing his arm.

"Flirting with your customers."

"I was a victim of mind control" She just smiled and settled against him. Glad to feel his arm around her again, especially with their little girl seeming to do a dance on her stomach. A few minutes later Tom sat up and looked at her with a grin on his face. "Pizza for dinner?"

"You can't have pizza every night," she sighed, shaking her head at him as he grinned.

"I can try" he laughed and leaned forward. Kissing her as hard as he could, and she knew they were home, and they were together again, as if the last two weeks hadn't happened.


End file.
